White Copper Mountain Ghost Antique Open Bangle

The mountain ghost comes from the Nine Songs in the Songs of Chu. She is a deity of the mountains, and the poem has her “clad in climbing fig and girdled with dodder,” waiting a long while for someone who never comes. Qu Yuan's mountain ghost is not fierce; if anything she is lonely. Later folk practice took the two characters and used them to ward off evil, which is already a step away from the poem. The Nine Songs are ritual songs, sung with a shaman dressed as the deity, and the clothes, the fragrant herbs and the carriage are all set down in detail.

The mountain ghost charm coin is a privately cast Qing ward-off-evil coin, never meant to circulate. The obverse usually carries the two characters for mountain ghost plus a spell, and the reverse lays out the bagua. Charm coins were cast in quantity and in many versions; a deep cut and fine metal make a good one. This bangle borrows the tradition, not any single version. Some versions cast a thunder command on the obverse as well, and the order of the bagua on the back is not always the same: every batch comes out a little different. A charm coin is not money, but its casting is often more careful than that of circulating coin. The lines have to be whole; break one and a version is ruined.

The bangle is a strip of copper bent into a C, its ends drawn in, held on the wrist by its own tension. After aging, the recesses darken while the raised characters and lines stay bright, so when the light slants the pattern floats up. The strip is thin, so the inner face has to be cleaned properly; otherwise sweat leaves a green mark. The curve of the C-opening must be even. Even, and it grips. Uneven, and it always turns to one side, which is the return I get most.

The fit of an open bangle is all in the bending. Once or twice is fine; bend it daily and the copper fatigues, and one day it goes with a snap at the narrow point. The right way to put it on is to slip it over at an angle and turn it straight, not to pull it open sideways. A slender wrist should take a smaller size, not hope to bend it tight. Copper fatigue gives no warning; it does not deform before it breaks. So don't treat it as a wrist guard. Take it off when you are working. A faint mark on the wrist is normal; don't count it a fault. The width of the opening decides how easy it is to put on; too narrow and it won't pass the metacarpals.

As a gift, the mountain ghost speaks of wild country air, which doesn't quite suit an elder. For a friend, or for yourself, it is fine. People ask whether it wards off evil, and I only say it is an old motif and looks good on; I won't promise more. In business, talk small and the days run long. The black of the aging is sulphur, and it leaves a mark on a pale cuff, so watch the first few wearings.